Stockbridge teen improving after deadly fire

STOCKBRIDGE, Ga -- A family spokesperson says a teenager who tried to save his older sister from their burning home is now off a respirator and breathing on his own.

Fifteen-year-old Mike Haney was rushed to an Augusta hospital for smoke inhalation Saturday after an early morning fire.

Family members say Haney woke up early Sunday morning and ran through the smoke-filled hallway trying to wake up his parents and his 25-year-old sister Karen Prichard.

Once Haney and his parents were outside, they realized his sister was still inside. Haney ran back into the house and was not seen again until firefighters arrived to pull him and his older sister. She did not survive.

Henry County officials said the home had one smoke alarm in the kitchen, but that it did not have a battery in it at the time of the fire. The cause of the fire is under investigation by Henry County fire investigators.

Friends of Haney and Prichard set up a Facebook page to honor Prichard's memory and give updates on Haney's recovery.